Demon
, inspired some of the better known pop cultural images of demons.]]A demon is a supernatural and often malevolent being prevalent historically in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore. Many demon stories involve the demon possessing a human body in order to work its evil. Although "demon" is derived from the Ancient Greek daimon (a word with no negative connotations), the modern concept of demons, and their depiction in artwork, is not based on any one set of writings from a particular culture, but is rather the result of millennia of cross-cultural syncretization and amalgamation. One of the more popular images recognized as "demon" is a frightening humanoid figure with wings, but this is by no means a universally agreed-on description. Demon in The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump Demons came in many shapes and sizes. Infernal demons Demons from Hell, in the service of Satan, included powerful overlords, such as Nebiros and Sarganatas, who were at large in the New World and considered potential threats by the Confederated Provinces Defense Department. Weaker infernal demons could be controlled with spells, and put to the service of humanity, often against their own demonic agenda. E.g., the Angels City Fire Department once forced the water demon Vepar to put out a fire at the St. Ferdinand's Valley Thomas Brothers monastery; though the demon accomplished this and saved many Catholic clerical lives, it did not do so without much complaint. Lesser demons Lesser demons could be harvested as livestock and bound to everyday household items. For example, the Kingdom of Siam had a booming industry exporting a brand of alarm clock demon, possibly accomplishing the effect of getting rid of irritating noisy pests. Demon in "Clash of Arms" After losing a bet with Satan, Stephen de Windesore was taken to Hell, where he was dismembered by three demons. Demon in Elabon The Trokmoi mage Balamung conjured up a variety of demons during his war against the Elabonians. Demon in "The Garden Gnome Freedom Front" Otto the garden gnome had met a few demons, whom he did not find to be quite as disagreeable as the Nazis, even though the latter were merely human. Demon in "Global Warming" At the end of the Ice Age, a group of shamans researched the matter of global warming and concluded that it was caused by the demons at the heart of fire. The shamans resolved to get fire-making outlawed and to punish its practitioners. Demon in "The Mrem Go West" The Mrem's image of demons closely resembled the Liskash. Whether the Liskash were descended from demons, or the Mrem mythmakers based their teaching on an unrecorded ancient contact with the Liskash, was unclear. Demon in Videssos The abilities of the evil mage Rhavas including summoning demons, although he only managed to carry off this difficult feat a few times in his bloody career. One demon which he summoned, killed Varahran, the last Makuraner King of Kings.See, e.g., Videssos Cycle: Volume Two, pg. 512. Demon in The War Between the Provinces During General James of Broadpath's attack on the southron-held Fort WiLi, the mage Colonel Simon conjured up an army of shrieking, bat-winged demons. The southrons responded with magical counterattacks, killing three demons with crossbows and causing the rest to become more cautious.Sentry Peak, p. 334. Many southron people regarded the northern General Ned of the Forest as a demon, but only in a metaphorical sense.E.g., Marching Through Peachtree, p. 123. References * Category:Supernatural Beings Category:The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump Category:Clash of Arms Category:Elabon Category:The Garden Gnome Freedom Front Category:Global Warming Category:The Mrem Go West Category:Videssos Category:The War Between the Provinces